Jordan Times
Sunday, March 14, 1999
Islamists claim presidency in bar association elections
By Mohammad Ben Hussein
AMMAN — Nationalists Saturday lost their last stronghold in Jordan's professional associations after suffering a stunning defeat in the Jordan Bar Association elections, when lawyers elected an Islamist to the presidency.
However, they did capture six out of ten seats in the executive council elections.
Saleh Armouti secured the presidency of the 3,800-member bar association. He captured 1,430 votes in a second round of voting that stretched into the early hours of Saturday, beating his opponent Marwan Hussein who pulled 845 votes.
According to the association's regulation, presidential candidates must secure a majority of votes to win the seat. After the first round, Armouti had only 947 votes and Hussein only 392 votes.
The nationalists, dubbed the “green list” by barristers, include Mazen Rsheidat, who grabbed 1,226 votes, Shaher Kharzoun with 1,072 votes, Zuhedi Daisi with 1,016 votes, Ali Dmour with 971 votes, Waddah Haddadin with 902 votes, and Samir Zeitune with 863 votes.
The Islamists, or the white list, neither gained nor lost on the council itself, retaining their three seats, now filled by incumbents Adnan Rashdan who won 966 votes, Amin Khawleh with 1,127 and Ziad Khaleifah with 1,127 votes, and newly-elected independent Mohammad Abu Jbara, with 1,141 votes.
Twenty-five candidates vied for the executive council's 10 seats.
The JBA for many years has been a hotbed for political activists, mostly leftists. During the 1970s and 80s, when martial law was still in force, the associations were the most prominent outlets for political expression and acted as political fora in the absence of legalised political parties.
The executive council has traditionally been dominated by nationalists, who have always secured the president's post and the majority of the council's seats, leaving little room for Islamists.
But nationalist dominance in all professional associations has given way to Islamist influence, particularly during the last decade.
Lawyers say nationalists lost the seat they dominated for decades because of a great desire for changes among young lawyers, said observers.
“Young lawyers want to rearrange the association from within,” said Mahmoud Kharabsheh, a lawyer, who is also a deputy in the Lower House of Parliament.
“The change [in the association] is natural. Greater variety brings more opportunity for creativity and promotion in the working conditions of lawyers across the country,” Kharabsheh told the Jordan Times.
“New people come every year, bringing with them new ideas and orientations and naturally this will effect the final outcome of the elections,” said Sa'di Abdin, a prominent lawyer.
However, observers site the nationalists' “agreement to disagree” as another reason for their defeat. Six nationalist candidates ran for the presidential post and all believed they would win, observers said, while the Islamists had organised their ranks.
Had nationalists combined their efforts and agreed among themselves on which candidates should be fielded, they would have had a better chance of winning the seat, lawyers said.
Bar association elections are considered some of the most active amongst the country's 13 professional associations. Around 70 per cent of the members voted.
The new president replaces Hussein Mjalli, who served a two-year term as president and who did not run this year because he believed “the association needs new blood.”
Earlier last month, Mjalli challenged the Court of First Instance order suspending Al Majd weekly newspaper for violations of the 1998 Press and Publications Law. The Court of Appeals overturned the first instance court decision two weeks ago.